Backstory

Physical Description

A tall and wiry native of Coruscant, Tam Minera seems at first glance an unlikely candidate to join the Rebellion. His military demeanor shines through no matter what his dress; he holds himself at attention almost subconsciously. Tam keeps his dark brown hair close-cropped in the style of the Imperial military; his dark brown eyes dart rapidly around any new surroundings, taking everything in. His dark complexion surprises those who only know him as a former Stormtrooper; they often expect his skin to be pale from spending so much time away from sunlight in his armor. However, he maintained (and still maintains) his athletic build with daily PT, something that has become a habit during his years in the Imperial military, and his preference was to do this outside in the upper levels of the city towers whenever possible.

Tam is not particularly muscular, but his movements are quick and precise, and his hands are steady. He looks as natural with a blaster in his hand as he does unarmed.

Tam exudes confidence, both in combat and in interpersonal dealings. His bearing can be very intimidating, but he can also be very charming when he wants to be. His emotions seem to lie close under the surface in his everyday life, possibly giving one the misconception that he might panic in battle. As soon as battle starts, however, Tam locks down his emotions behind a solid wall of determination, leaving behind an effective and dangerous adversary.

Male Human

1.9m (6'3")

87 kg (190 lb)

Dark brown hair

Dark brown eyes

Dark olive skin

Age 24 at start of campaign; 25 now

Athletic, but not particularly muscular, more wiry

Personal History

One cock-up away from a prison planet. That's how Tam would have to describe his life in a single sentence. While still a very young child, Tam's father died, and his mother had to care for him alone. With so little parental supervision, Tam spent much of his childhood and adolescence getting into just about as much trouble as a child could get into on Coruscant. A small, skinny boy, he quickly learned to fight. For his twelfth birthday, he managed to nick an old hold-out blaster off of an off-worlder while trying to steal himself a birthday present of someone else's credits. Luckily for him, Tam was picked up by Coruscant Security Force Officer Lile Yidrath after having done little more than scorch up someone's nice, clean walls. Lile saw something good in Tam and kept his arrest (for both weapons charges and curfew violations) off the books, requiring Tam to instead check in with him regularly in a sort of unofficial parole. Over the next few years, Lile served as a sort of unofficial father figure for Tam. This continued, and Tam turned his life largely around, until just two months before Tam's 16th birthday.

On that day, Tam went to check in with Lile as usual, even though his "parole" had long since been lifted. Upon his arrival, though, Tam found Lile's lying just outside his apartment, bleeding badly from two blaster wounds. While coming off duty, Lile had been robbed and shot only 100 feet from his own home. Tam quickly tried to summon medical help, but Lile died before they could arrive. Afraid of what might happen, Tam took off - he's never forgiven himself for not staying. Just after his 16th birthday, Tam spent all the money he had to buy fake credentials showing his age as 18. He applied for and was accepted to the Coruscant Security Forces.

Tam spent 5 years with the CSF, during which time he hunted tirelessly for Lile's murderer. Though his record was excellent in general, the arrest of the murderer after such a long time (and with so little starting information) brought Tam to the attention of the upper echelons. Tam's lieutenant put his name in for consideration when the Senatorial Guard came around for recruitment, and Tam was accepted during his second application (at age 22).

After training, the young Private Minera was assigned to escort a junior Senator by the name of Venn Tyree under the command of Sebastian Fell. Tyree was relatively lax commander, not bossing his guard around or completely ignoring them like some other Senators would do, and Tam quickly fell into a rhythm of work that generally satisfied him. After around a year, Sebastian began to take something of an interest in the young private, as he seemed to be an ethical sort. Sebastian did some digging into Tam's background and discovered his lies about his age, his rough upbringing, and his former CSF friend's untimely death. A curious sort (and always on the lookout for more dirt to pass to the Rebels), Sebastian called in some favors and discovered that Lile's death had actually been arranged by the CSF because Lile wouldn't "play ball" with some of the illegal activities happening on the department. Sebastian anonymously leaked this information to Tam to see how he would react.

Upon learning about the real circumstances behind Lile's death, Tam was truly shaken. He'd only been with the Senator around 18 months and didn't really have many people to turn to amongst his peers. He stewed on the information for weeks, trying to figure out by himself what to do about it. One evening, finally at a loss for words, he went to discuss the information with his captain to see what he should do about it. Unfortunately, he walked in on a meeting Sebastian was having with a Rebel Alliance courier. Confronted with this treason, he froze momentarily, debating whether or not to turn in his commanding officer; Sebastian noticed him just then, confronting him with his blaster-pike. Tam had overheard something about the information being exchanged, something about CSF forces working with stormtroopers to abduct civilians for unknown reasons. Mentally and emotionally exhausted, Tam lowered his weapon, waiting to be shot for his discovery. Instead, Sebastian cautiously lowered his pike and brought Tam into his confidence, convincing Tam that he was doing this for the right reasons. Tam left uncomfortable with the lawbreaking but grudgingly accepting that something needed to be done to help these people. Over the next few months, Sebastian slowly introduced Tam into his own treasonous activities, finally allowing him to see that Venn was the mastermind behind the scheme. After that, Tam was regularly assigned to guard the Senator whenever something hinky was going down since he was already in on the plot. He still retains his unease about the illegal actions of his superiors, but he has not yet felt comfortable truly speaking up.

Though Tam grew up a brawler, his stint with the Senatorial Guard introduced him to the more refined stylings of the Hijkata martial art. Tam now mixes that more passive art with the short boxing blows he mastered in his teen years.

Personality

Ethical

Passionate

Not extremely intelligent, just average

prone to following orders

beginning to become slightly less reluctant to speak up to rebut his senior officers

Something of a temper

childhood borderline criminal - lots of fighting due to temper

arrested as youngster (13ish) by a CSF officer who didn't put it on the books - scared straight

managed to turn life around and get into the CSF himself (lying about his age and getting in at 16)

now has temper under much better control, but still prone to using fists/intimidation

Uncomfortable with aliens

rarely dealt with them on Coruscant

rarely had to directly deal with them as a blue guard

Very respectful of Venn

Looks up to him as an authority figure and something of a replacement for Lile

Still somewhat uncomfortable with defection/treason - wants to do the right thing, but is always wanting to work within the law

Should play role of conservative voice in Venn's ear, trying to reign him in from openly attacking the Empire

Personality Quirks

Considers himself something of a player - likes to chat up the ladies in the bars on his off hours

Heavily trained in blasters, but instinct is still to go to brawling as a first option in a fight

Extremely picky eater due to somewhat sheltered environment of Coruscant

Has worn uniforms for so long, he wears uniform-like clothing when off hours

Almost paranoid about the Senator's security - very loyal to him as a result of being taken under his wing

Temper - quick to pull a gun when riled. Tam knows about this and has been trained for a decade to repress his temper, but his control is far from perfect.

Drug dependence - Imperial enhancement drugs. Tam was trained to use these during Stormtrooper period of his life, and he now relies on them more often since the odds are more strongly stacked against him.

Statistics

Race: HumanMove: 10Force Sensitive? NoCharacter Points: 5

Attributes and Skills

Dexterity 4D

Knowledge 2D

Mechanical 2D+2

Skill

D

Skill

D

Skill

D

Blasters

8D

Intimidation

4D+1

Ground Vehicles

2D+2

Dodge

6D+2

Willpower

4D

Communications

4D

Melee Combat

6D+2

Law Enforcement

5D+1

Repulsorlift

4D

Grenade

4D+1

Bureaucracy

4D

Starship Gunnery

6D+1

Running

4D+1

Value

2D

Space Transports

3D

Thrown Weap

4D

Streetwise

4D

Perception 4D

Strength 3D

Technical 3D

Skill

D

Skill

D

Skill

D

Command

4D

Brawling

6D

Blaster Repair

4D+1

Hide

4D

(Hijkata)

8D+1

Armor Repair

4D+1

Investigation

7D

Stamina

6D+1

First Aid

4D

Search

6D

Security

5D+2

Sneak

5D

Space Transports Repair

3D+1

Persuasion

5D+2

Equipment

White Stormtrooper armor, rank insignia for Corporal

+2D physical armor

+1D energy armor

-1D Dexterity and related skills

+2D Perception in darkness, smoke, or other obscured conditions

+2D blaster skill vs. targets moving more than 10 m/round

Integral commlink

Highly extremely illegal

Blue Senate Guard armor, rank insignia for Private

+2D physical armor

+1D energy armor

-1D Dexterity and related skills

+2D Perception in darkness, smoke, or other obscured conditions

+2D blaster skill vs. targets moving more than 10 m/round

Integral commlink

Highly extremely illegal

2500 cr

MilTech Tactical Full-Body Armor

Overall

+1D physical

+1D energy

Full coverage

Helmet

VOX Commlink

Recycles Type I atmosphere for up to 10 hours

Macrobinoculars (+2D search beyond 50m)

Thermal Imaging System (Perception vs. cover's Strength+2D to see through cover)

Aliases

Contacts

List of and links to major NPCs with whom Tam has a significant relationship of some sort.

Close Friends/Team

Venn Tyree

Tam's feelings about Venn are tied up irrevocably in years of finding himself. As a result, Tam still looks to Venn with a mild form of hero worship, though he has begun to recognize recently that Venn is, in fact, not infallible. Tam still feels incredibly responsible for Venn's safety and security, and Venn is still Tam's commander. However, Tam has come to see Venn as something of a friend as well, though that friendship is very tempered by Tam's sense of duty. Tam won't allow himself to get too close to Venn, as that would compromise his overall mission; however, he can have something of a friendship with Venn without losing sight of his higher duties to the former Senator.

Kane Novallis

Tam's not always quite sure what to think of Kane. In a past life, he would have arrested the lowlife without hesitation; now, however, there's no one he'd rather have piloting the Prospect. If Tam's learned one thing in his life so far, it's to recognize and respect skill, and Kane is quite possibly the best pilot Tam has ever seen up close. Though he doesn't always agree with Kane's approach (particularly his lack of respect for the law), he always appreciates Kane's quick wit and quick reflexes, and he's slowly learning to deal with Kane on a more equitable level.

Amanha Orden

Tam's been a bit of a player in the past, and he carried that attitude a bit into Hoth. Of couse, in the Rebel military structure, he was a pariah — Stormtrooper, the Enemy, etc. He had a long time pulling double-shift responsibility, no friends, and no support. He basically fell back on his "street" self to stay alive. There were very few people who treated him like a person at first. Orden, surprisingly, was sort of one of them - the nicest person to him, at least. (From her perspective, it was basically that he had intel he was freely giving, so to her, Tam was like the God of Puzzles.)

In any case, Tam spent so much time with Orden he kinda got intrigued by her on an intellectual level, which is someplace he's never really been with a woman before. As a result, Tam is beginning to pursue a relationship with Orden. He had been flirting with her before (while simultaneously flirting and sparring with Verena Krin), but working more closely with Orden has brought him closer to her. Though Orden is, to put it mildly, oblivious, Tam is beginning to work his way into her life more and more frequently.

More recently, Tam has come clean with Verena about his feelings for Orden. Circumstances have kept him further from her, and their physical relationship has not progressed since Tam started pursuing Orden with more determination. However, Tam felt he needed to be truthful with Verena despite the blow it might give to his reputation. With each mission Tam performs with Orden, though, he becomes more and more convinced that if something had happened between Verena and him it would have been both unsatisfying and one of the biggest mistakes of his life….

Sidara Lanka

When first on Hoth, Tam's relationship with Sidara was almost completely antagonistic. As his weapons instructor, she was constantly on his case, despite the fact that he could usually outshoot her. He also later found out that she was responsible for his frequent extra shifts and backbreaking labor. This brought out Tam's temper quite often, though he fought hard to control it.

Tam later discovered that Sidara had seen something in Tam and had been pushing him deliberately hard intending to find his breaking point. While he can respect this (and even accept it), Tam's relationship with Sidara is still strained. He can see her as a useful mentor and an eminently-respectable soldier, but he would be hard pressed to see her as a friend of any sort.

Katiara Rourke

Katiara Rourke is, to Tam, an anomaly. She was the only person aside from Amanha Orden who seemed to blithely accept Tam immediately upon his arrival to Hoth. However, he never got a vibe from her that she was attracted to or interested in him. This confused Tam for quite a while, but in working more closely with her, he has finally figured it out: Rourke loves people. Rourke is not a member of the Rebel military because she wants to fight the Empire; she is a medic because she can't stand to see people suffer in any way, shape, or form. Rourke accepted Tam because she accepts everyone.

Tam still doesn't know quite how to treat Rourke. As an attractive woman who really has no interest in him, he would have written her off in the past as a waste of time. However, now they work together every day, he has learned that he can just chat with her from time to time without worrying about what the end result will be. While he wouldn't say that they are close friends (they have too little in common for that), Tam would acknowledge that they have some form of friendship. Asked to choose the most trustworthy person on the Prospect, Tam would be hard-pressed to choose between Venn and Katiara.

Wen deCrion

Tam hasn't done a lot with Wen, though he likes and respects Wen's style. Wen is perfectly comfortable being exactly who he is, which is something Tam hasn't felt since joining the Rebellion. Hanging out with Wen always briefly reminds Tam of his Academy days. Wen has that same devil-may-care attitude that many of his co-cadets did in their younger days. Anymore, though, Tam can't bring himself back to that place as easily - he's seen too much since.

Tam absolutely respects Wen's attitude under fire, though. Whenever anything goes down, Wen is all business, and Tam can't help but respect how well Wen keeps his cool and does what needs to be done.

Zhymmia Starfall

Tam has relatively limited interactions with Starfall so far. Mostly, he, Wen, Sidara, and Starfall do PT together when they're stuck onboard the Prospect for long periods of time. The relationship is… amicable, he supposes, though he's not learned particularly much about her as a person so far. She seems like she has a softer interior that she protects and keeps closely guarded. Tam has learned that Starfall is a very capable fighter; he takes time out of his days frequently to spar with her and provide her some small level of instruction in various martial arts. Tam couldn't really put anything into words, but he feels a sort of kinship with Zhymmia as a fellow dedicated soldier; she reminds him a little of himself when he was much younger. He tries to occasionally mentor her in his own limited way.

Verena Krin

When first assigned to Hoth, Tam was locked into a very uncomfortable situation he hadn't experienced since his childhood: he was almost completely alone. As a former Stormtrooper, it was difficult for the majority of the Rebels to accept Tam as anything other than simply "the enemy," and he spent much of his time dealing with the (sometimes violent) fallout of that fact. Additionally, he had very little downtime to socialize at first as he was often stuck pulling double-shifts.

One of the few people to start to warm to Tam early on was Verena Krin. They encountered each other during Tam's obsessive early-morning PT routines; Verena has much the same routine, and they saw each other around. Though Verena had been told of Tam's earlier career, she began to see something different in him during their individual early morning PT: a driven man, but just a man like anyone else. Eventually, she approached Tam, and they began to work out together and chat.

This relationship with Verena was the first time Tam felt even vaguely comfortable on Hoth. Tam was very used to relationships of a more physical nature with women, and he found Verena very attractive. He could also talk to her about more mundane things than he could discuss with Orden: military routine, PT regimens, drinking, carousing, and such. However, by the time Tam would otherwise have begun to pursue Verena, things had changed, particularly between him and Orden.

Tam has now come clean with Verena. A part of him still regrets his decision as a missed opportunity and a "pussy move." As time goes by, however, more and more of him stridently disagrees.

Other Friends

Sebastian Fell, deceased. Tam's guard captain when he worked for the Senatorial Guard. Sebastian took Tam under his wing and taught him how to be not just an excellent Stormtrooper but also an ethical and kind one.

Enemies

Quiila, a Rodian bounty hunter Tam "sniped" on Belderone

Undetermined

Krenis Taa, Senatorial Guard. Tam originally met Krenis when they both attended the Coruscant Security Forces Academy. After the Academy, they were assigned to vastly different sectors, and Tam lost track of Krenis for a few years. They became reacquainted when Krenis became a Senatorial Guard only to find that Tam already was one as well. While not particularly close, they would meet up for drinks every few weeks when off-duty, keeping one another apprised of the various goings-on they might need to know about to perform their respective security duties.

Sola Min, Senatorial Guard. Tam met Sola during one of his outings with Krenis. The two became friends, and while they never truly dated, they had a sort of understanding. Later on, Sola would meet up with Krenis and Tam at their impromptu "security sessions" as well.

Life Events

This section details Tam's reactions to various key events in his life since the start of the campaign.

Near-Death Junkyard Escape

During the team's escape from the junkyard, the elite stormtroopers on station nearly managed to kill Tam when he took some shots from an E-Web repeating blaster. He barely made it off-planet alive, and without the ministrations of Rourke, he would never have made it to the hospital on Belderone.

Orden managed to be around for much of his healing process, and though she isn't the most emotionally-present person in the galaxy, Tam has started to reconsider approaching a relationship with her (to the extent that he's considering halting his pursuit of Krin).

Tam also partially blames his injuries on lack of adequate preparation on his part. He is now trying to double down on equipment, including more drug doses for his autoinjector to keep him at the peak of his game.

Orden

Tam's relationship with Amanha Orden is complicated at best. Contemplating it has required him to think about various aspects of his life in a whole new light.